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Women's Chorus
Thillana for Women’s Voices
SSA chorus, optional drum, South Indian dancer
Year Written: 2010
Duration: 6:00
Theme: Multicultural/India; Collaboration
DEVELOPED BY DUMASTAR
Commissioned and Premiered By
WomanVoice, a consortium of choirs: Augsburg College Riverside Singers, College of St. Catherine’s Women’s Choir, Hamline University Women’s Chorale, University of Minnesota Women’s Chorus and the University of St. Thomas Women’s Choir, 2010
Text: Set in Hindi
The beautiful girl dances to the lovely song with the rhythmic syllables “Tadithai, Thaiditai.” She moves her anklets elegantly and they make the sound “Jhanana, Jhanana.”
Notes
The thillana is a vocal genre in South Indian dance and music performance that prominently features drumming syllables as part of the text. The Dhanasri Thillana, named after the raga Dhanasri (similar to the Dorian mode) was composed by Swathi Thirunal, who was not only a prolific composer, but also the ruler of Travanacore (now Kerala) from 1815 to 1829. The Dhanasri Thillana is one of Swathi Thirunal’s most enduring works—performed frequently on both music and dance concerts
throughout India. Thillana for Women’s Voices is a new work inspired by Swathi Thirunal’s original composition as interpreted by veena and vocal artist Nirmala Rajasekar.
South Indian singing uses a great deal of portamento and embellishment called gamaka. A CD of the original melody sung by vocal artist Nirmala Rajasekar and the Hindi pronunciation of the text are provided with the score. Experimenting with vocal sounds might be tried in the opening Alap, which is the introduction of the raga and can be stretched in time, with added improvisation. Since this thillana is not only a well-known song but also part of South Indian dance repertoire, a drummer and dancer may be added.
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